Large-group trauma at the hands of the “other,” transgenerational transmissions, and chosen traumas

Abstract

Massive societal catastrophes can occur for any number of reasons, including natural or man-made disasters, political oppression, economic collapse, or death of a leader, but tragedies, brutalities, and deaths that result from the deliberate actions of other ethnic, national, religious, or ideological groups called “enemies,” must be differentiated from other types of massive shared trauma. This is because they involve severe large-group identity issues. When the “other” who possesses a different large-group identity than the victims humiliates and oppresses a large group, the victimized large-group’s identity is threatened.